By Roger Costa
ACCEPT THE CALL
A striking and revelatory documentary following a Somali immigrant trying to figure out whatever happened to the exemplar education given to his son, director Eunice Lau invites the audience into a painful and urgent journey for human value and righteousness. Lau gets complete access to Yusuf Abdurahman’s life experience as he meets up with authorities, community members and interviews his own son, to capture a truthful canvas of a conflicted generation, fruits of a history of rebellion and revolution. Abdurahman is a teacher living in Minnesota for 25 years, as a Somali refugee who fled the Civil war. His political, peaceful and humanitarian perspectives go contrary with most of the members in his community, the largest Somalis concentration in the country. As a devastating contradiction, his son, 19-year-old Zacharia is being held in prison, accused of terrorism, trying to enter the ISIS operation in several occasions, but stopped by the FBI. Through inclusive, sensitive, heart-pounding observations on the father’s quest for answers, and collecting the teen’s and his determined sister’s motivations, Lau crafts a powerful statement about unconditional love, and a stirring look at the evil influence of terrorism. (World Premiere 6/15 and 6/16 at Human Rights Watch Film Festival, at Film at Lincoln Center, NYC.)
BEING FRANK
The complicated relationship between a stubborn father and a spoiled son getting ready for college, gets out-of-control when the kid finds out his dad has a second family. Pressured to get a Summer job and to put a hold on his dreams of becoming a musician, reluctant Philip (Logan Miller) finds opportunity to be in charge as he blackmails his father, Frank (Jim Gaffigan), in order to keep it a secret. The film brilliantly absorbs his reaction of total frustration and disappointment, as he’s been betrayed by his greatest role-model, and clearly wants to spare it from his mother and sister. As father and son trying to put on each other’s shoes, Miller and Gaffigan create a humorous, convincingly cynical characterization of such a situation, when a kid already fed up with his father’s dictatorial rules turns the game, embracing control. Director Miranda Bailey’s feature film debut has a frenetic energy, a delicate balance between family crisis and screwball humor, and an incredibly flawless chemistry among the cast. When Philip meets his father’s second family, he points to the contradictions and revelations his father had always spoken as if talking about his friend’s family, comparing and analyzing his personality and how he’s preparing for the future as a young man entering the 1990’s. A smart, very funny, well done satire on family values, and the duality and consequences of polygamy. (The Film Arcade. 6/14. Quad Cinemas and Landmark West 57.)
IN THE AISLES
German rising star Franz Rogowski (“Transit”) gives another complex, unforgettable performance as an ex-con recently released from jail and trying to get back on track as he starts a new job at a giant supermarket. He was named Best Actor by the German Film Awards and next he will be seen in Terrence Malick’s latest, the acclaimed “A Hidden Life”, just fresh out of its Cannes winning. Building up a quite charming, mysterious, and melancholic character, Rogowski superbly interacts with the other eccentric players in this dark comedy about loyalty and the importance of supporting one another: as a newbie, he is introduced to everyone in the firm, collecting instructions on the development of stocking the shelves, assisting the costumers and maintaining organization; But mostly they learn of each other and their mutual feelings of loneliness, insecurity and hopelessness. He develops an intense friendship with a co-worker, who will possibly shine a light on his journey, and deeply falls in love with a married, gentle lady, after mistaking affection for desire. Sandra Hüller (“Toni Erdmann”) enlightens the screen with her presence, in the role of Marion, his prohibited love interest, who has herself some mysterious issues going on at home. Writer-director Thomas Stuber’s third feature pays homage to Stanley Kubrick as it opens with a dazzling camera-dance through the aisles where the action happens, as it’s seductively described in off by the protagonist. Winner of the Guild Film Prize at Berlin, it’s a sensitive, irreverent look at the issues, relationships and values surrounding the working-environment and its communion. (Music Box Films. 6/14. Village East Cinemas.)
THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM
A passionate affair leads to a tragic terrorism investigation in director Muayad Alayan’s award-winning, outstanding sophomore project. Set amidst the conflicts and tensions among Arabs and Israelis and based on true events, it depicts the irreversible consequences of an adultery case between an Israeli coffee-shop owner and a poor Arabic delivery-man. Masterly built as an intense, provocative and thoughtful thriller about the flaws of human justice, and the fragility of human desire, Alayan maintains an incredible ticking-bomb pace throughout the narrative. This fabulous aspect permeates the film since their prohibited encounters, his captivity by Jewish agents, and the impressively knit investigation as he’s accused of recruiting spies and collaborating with terrorists. The core of the drama is split between four parts: the delivery man and his pregnant wife struggling with financials; the adulteress and her clueless husband, a colonel officer. All four play very important pieces of this explosive puzzle, especially when they all see no exits; but actress Maisa Abd Elhadi, who plays the Arab wife Bisan, carries all the emotional despair and intensity of the film, representing its drastic consequences as a victim of betrayal and political interests. It’s also through her, that director Alayan explores everyone’s motives and impulses, as they deal with desires of the flesh, moral responsibility, and a never-ending civil war. Things get even more stirring as Saleem’s imprisonment raises issues for how corrupt the human soul can be in order to score their own interests. There’s no doubt this is one of the year’s best and most accomplished films. One simple, and forbidden, act raises a whole lot of issues dealing with moral, traditions, God’s law, and mostly the unfortunate fact of division and prejudice: when confessing to her adultery, the coffee shop owner is insulted as if she was extremely desperate to have an affair with an “Arab” instead of a “regular/normal” Jewish man. A well articulated, gripping and utterly suspenseful political thriller about family matters, Alayan is definitely one promising filmmaker ready to take flight and conquer the international market. (Dada Films. 6/13. Film Forum NYC and Laemmle Royal LA.)
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